The present invention relates to a vertically extendable and length adjustable flagstaff holder that is provided for removable attachment to a vehicle through use of a standard trailer hitch coupling and, more particularly, to a trailer hitch assembly which is removably attachable to a standard receiver receptacle at the rear of a vehicle.
Flying pennants, banners, or flags from vehicles is an important way of showing support for an organization, country or other group. Advertising can also be displayed. Various patents have taught different methods of temporarily securing pennants, banners, or flags on a vehicle. These existing patents have certain drawbacks and limitations.
For instance, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,524,857 and 5,233,938 describe vehicle window-mounted masts. Their disadvantages include the noise they produce when the vehicle is in motion due to flag fluttering and road noise resulting from the partially open window with the mount in place. Safety for following vehicles is also jeopardized if the window is lowered thus permitting the flag to detach from the window by wind force.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,497 to Nichols Jr. shows a mount limited to hood mounting while U.S. Pat. No. 2,534,117 to Flick describes a car door flag holder, which will fall off if the door is opened.
Flag mounting on vehicle antennae as taught by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,735,230 and 5,590,621 are flawed because the flag size is severely limited by the structural integrity of the antenna. Similarly, suction cup and magnetic base mounted flag masts proposed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,483,916, 4,574,726, 3,241,516 and 3,148,856 exhibit the disadvantage of being adversely affected by wind force, when the force is transferred to the holding bases. Should the holding base separate from where it was stuck, the disengagement may cause the invention to act as a projectile, thus creating a hazard situation to other road users. Moreover, pennants, logos, flags or indicia that depends on magnetic forces of the holder are limited to metallic vehicle panels. It would therefore be highly desirable to provide a method and means that would overcome all aforementioned prior art drawbacks and limitations for attaching and flying flags, banners and other pennants on a vehicle.
A system present on or adaptable to virtually all trucks, SUVs and automobiles is the receiver type trailer hitch. The receiver portion of the hitch is rigidly attached to the underside of the vehicle and has a hollow rectangular tube projecting to the rear of the vehicle and parallel to the ground. The trailer ball is fitted on to a separate rectangular tube section which fits slidingly into the receiver""s rectangular tube. The ball tube is secured within the receiver tube by a bolt or pin inserted through matching drilled holes in each of the two engaged tubes. This provides a strong and stable connection between the hitch and the receiver that also prevents relative motion between the two components. This arrangement permits the easy substitution of different sized trailer hitch balls. When the hitch ball is not being used the trailer hitch portion may be removed.
This receiver system has also been found useful as a mount for bicycle racks, picnic tables and other adaptations that require a strong and rigid support when the vehicle is moving or at rest.
In one aspect of the present invention, a flagstaff holder is provided for removable attachment to a vehicle through use of a receiver type trailer hitch coupling. The flagstaff holder is mounted at the distal end of a vertical post. The post may be of a fixed length or may comprise a tube within a tube, which can be adjusted incrementally between the closed or lowered position and the maximum extended position. This is accomplished by use of a pin or bolt inserted in matching holes of the two slidingly adjustable tubes comprising the vertical post. The flag may be elevated to provide increased visibility, lowered to storage position or the flag and the extendable tube may be completely removed. The lowered position permits the vehicle to be moved into areas of restricted height, such as a parking garage, and under other obstructions, which the flag might otherwise come into contact with when extended to its uppermost position.
The fixed length or lower adjustable post of the flag holder may also contain an array of one or more lights that are contained in a waterproof housing which can be aimed at the flag or banner thus illuminating it at night. This housing may or may not be rotatably adjustable in the vertical plane in order to illuminate the flag or banner more accurately. This is especially valuable if an advertising banner is being used as on a commercial vehicle. These lights are powered by the same vehicle electrical system that supplies power to the trailer running, brake and turn signal lights.